The United Kingdom on Wednesday threw its weight behind Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to establish state police, describing the National Assembly’s security reform initiative as a major step towards building a more accountable, responsive and community-focused policing system,
Similarly, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas and the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, assured Nigerians that the proposed constitutional amendment contains strong safeguards to prevent abuse by governors and other powerful interests.
The endorsement came at the National Security Roundtable held as part of the 2026 National Assembly Open Week in Abuja, where lawmakers, security chiefs, governors, ministers and development partners converged to deliberate on legislative reforms aimed at addressing Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
The roundtable, supported by the United Kingdom Government-funded Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria Programme, focused on state policing, security sector reforms, inter-agency collaboration, institutional accountability and the legislative framework required to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
The discussions come at a critical period for the country as the National Assembly considers what many observers have described as one of the most far-reaching constitutional amendments since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
